LA PAZ -- The Bolivian government will conduct studies on the construction of three large bridges over Lake Titicaca, which it shares with Peru, the governor of La Paz province said Wednesday.

Pablo Ramos told reporters that the project is being demanded by the mainly Aymara Indian residents of mountain towns around the world's highest lake, the official ABI news agency said.

"The government needs a study to identify the best places (for) the construction of three large bridges," said the governor after meeting with local leaders.

The proposal calls for three bridges -- one of them 3,000 meters (9,836 ft.) long -- to link the Kehuaya community with the islands of Suriqui and Taquiri, as well as the town of Santiago de Oje.

The backing for the construction of the bridges does not include the possibility of building another piece of similar infrastructure across the so-called Tiquina Strait, which tourists cross daily in precarious boats to get to the sanctuary at Copacabana, which borders on Peru.

The boat operators working in that area transporting people and vehicles on the lake's Tiquina Strait always have opposed erecting a bridge there for fear that their earnings will be negatively affected. EFE